The Augusta National Golf Club in eastern Georgia is an American icon shrouded in intrigue. It is every bit as exclusive as its prestigious Masters Tournament. The rich masters lore and its heavenlike setting of impeccably manicured fairways and greens set against a breathtaking backdrop of azaleas and pines are familiar to golf fans worldwide.
Behind the wondrous scenes and memorable tournament play, however, resides a secretive and clannish club with a gentlemen-only membership of three hundred. Included are many of the most powerful CEOs and executives of America. Their shared legacy is an institution cofounded more than sixty years ago by the unlikely partnership of Bobby Jones, the personable golfer of unparalleled amateur success, and Clifford Roberts, a tight-lipped Wall Street investment broker.
Mixing a deep respect for golf's traditions with a scrutinizing curiosity, Eubanks explores the significant role Roberts played in Augusta member-to-be Dwight Eisenhower's ascension to the presidency; Roberts' suicide and the club's subsequent loss of the pistol he used; the exclusion of African-American Charlie Sifford from the Masters field; Augusta's impetuous relationship with CBS; and the Tiger Woods-Fuzzy Zoeller brouhaha of 1997. Eubanks also recalls moments of Masters glory-the simultaneous rise of Arnold Palmer and the Masters in the late '50s and early '60s, and the 1997 coronation of Tiger Woods, the first Masters winner of African-American heritage. Augusta is required reading for any golf fan.
